The Seven Year Itch
by Ruiner29
Summary: Angela Chase is 27, engaged and in a great job. On the outside it looks as though she has it all, inside she pines for the man she let go. Can a reunion be likely?
1. Chapter 1

**Angela Chase was now 27, she had everything going for her, great job and a wonderful fiance. Since she left Three Rivers she had never looked back. The town held bad memories for her, namely Jordan Catalano. They had dated for three years until she had fallen pregnant and miscarried. **

**She couldn't cope with her own feelings as well as Jordan's so she ended their relationship, and moved to New York.**

**She met Matt at a party and they had since been inseparable, he reminded her of Jordan and it was her way of keeping the man she'd always loved with her, through Matt's mannerisms he was the closest thing she had to the man she had let go all those years ago..**

Angela and Matt were sitting at the kitchen table sipping coffee and reading the morning newspapers. She glanced over at him and smiled to herself, he was safe, he didn't give her the insane feelings of butterflies and adoration that she had when she was with Jordan. She liked feeling in control and the security he provided.

"Babe, I've got to go to LA for a couple of weeks on business. I have to leave tomorrow morning, wanna come with me?" he looked at her expectantly.

"Oh I don't know Matt, I promised Rayanne and Rickie that we'd spend a few days together, it's been so long since we caught up. Go without me, what's two weeks away from each other when we have the rest of our lives together right?" She leant over to him and kissed him briefly on the lips.

Matt smiled at her and put his arms around her waist, pulling her close to him. "Miss Chase, I still can't believe you've agreed to be my wife..I feel like I've won the lottery or something"

Angela smiled and gently prized his arms way from her waist."I'm the lucky one Matt" she smiled. Inside she didn't feel lucky, she liked Matt and did genuinely care for him, but he'd always be second prize to her, the first prize was Jordan and always would be but she had fucked that one up good and proper.

Just then they were interrupted by a loud tapping at the door. Angela broke away from Matt's gaze and answered the door.  
Rayanne was stood in her doorway, red faced and smiling from ear to ear.

"Angelica!" she cried as she flung her arms round Angela's neck, knocking her off balance slightly.

"Rayanne? What are you doing here? Weren't we supposed to meet up at the weekend?!" she asked surprised but pleased to see her.

"Change of plans Angela, have you checked your post yet? It's so EXCITING!" Angela shook her head, knowing that she wouldn't need to check what mail she had as Rayanne would no doubt tell her what it would be..

"There's like a 10 year reunion at Liberty High Ang, we've sooooo got to go!" She gushed.

Angela felt her insides turn over, a feeling of fear and anticipation swept over her. "I don't know Rayanne, I mean..It's back to Three Rivers, It's kind of not what I had in mind of doing this weekend y'know?"  
Rayanne gave a huge sigh and tugged at Angelas arm. "Look, what happened happened, it was 8 years ago honey, people change and life moves on..You have to go, Rickies up for it and Tino and I definitely are..Say you'll come...Please?"

Angela looked at her friend doing her best acting to date, she laughed at Rayanne's eye fluttering and pleading expression.

"Rayanne Graff, you should be an actress" She smiled.

Rayanne spun around and bowed, looking up at Angela smiling. "Tino tells me that all the time, I told him I would have been an oscar nominated hollywood starlett by now, if it hadn't been for marrying him!"

Angela laughed and gently slapped Rayanne's shoulder " Yea, bad Tino for straightening you out and making an honest woman of you, shame on that man" she scolded jokingly.

Matt was stood at the sink washing up. "Hey Rayanne, grab yourself a coffee and take a seat, you make me nervous jumping around like that" he put away the plates and looked to Angela.

"I'm going to get the post baby, seriously you should go, what harm can seeing old friends do? A reunion will be fun, mine was a riot" He kissed her on the forehead and headed out to get the post.

Angela slumped into a chair and rubbed her eyes. She looked over at Rayanne who had decided to not only have a coffee but also make herself a bagel.

"Rayanne, what if _he's _there?" She said , worried.

Rayanne studied her face and shrugged "So what? I'm sure he's probably married by now, that or, in prison" she joked.

Angela nodded in agreement, she knew Jordan wouldn't be in prison, but a man that beautiful would definitely have been snagged by another woman. She felt her stomach knot at the thought of Jordan being married to another woman, a woman that wasn't her.

"You're right Rayanne, I'm being silly. Count me in..I'll go. It's about time I saw my parents again anyway" she said quietly.

Matt had come back in and he handed Angela three letters. "Sweetheart I gotta go to work, I'll see you tonight. You couldn't do me a favour and pack for me could you?"

Angela nodded and gave him a hug. "No problems, if I didn't pack you any underwear you'd forget anyway" she laughed.

Matt gave Angela a lingering kiss. "See you later baby" he smiled. "Love you"

Angela smiled shyly and whispered " Yea, see you later"

After Matt had left, Rayanne sat down next to her and just stared.

"Rayanne, what? what is it?" she asked, annoyed by the scrutinizing look Rayanne was giving her.

"You never said you loved him back" She said bluntly.

Angela shrugged and replied "Yea I did, you just never heard me"

Rayanne shook her head slowly and replied" NO, you _didn't._ You couldn't tell him you love him because you _don't_ love him"

Angela kept her head bowed so as to not look into Rayanne's eyes. She began opening the invitation to the Reunion.

Glancing over the print she began to get butterflies.

_**Dear Angela,**_

_**As you know, It's been 10 years since you graduated from Liberty High and we would be honoured if the students from 1994 would once again, roam the coridoor's of our school for one night.**_

_**Drinks and food will be awaiting you , as well as old students from your classes.**_

_**The evening begins at 7.00pm , Saturday 21st July.**_

_**We would be grateful if you could attend.**_

_**Sincerely**_

_**Liberty High.**_

Angela re-read the invite over and over again. There was a loud thump on the kitchen table, making her jump. She looked up and saw Rayanne glaring at her.

"What Rayanne??? What do you want me to say?" she said exasperated.

Rayanne relaxed and looked her squarely in the eyes. " Why are you going to marry a man you're not in love with huh?"

Angela felt her bottom lip tremble and a lump rise in her throat. "Because he's safe Rayanne. he's a good man and he's safe"

Rayanne stood up and pulled Angela into a big hug. "If you marry Matt, you're making a bigger mistake than running away from Jordan all those years ago sweetie, if you're heart isn't in this you'll regret it" she whispered.

Angela was sobbing and pushed Rayanne away from her " Just drop it Rayanne. Please" She then turned and ran to the bathroom.

Later on that evening , Angela was packing Matt's suitcase for his business trip. As she folded his shirts, she thought back to the time when she packed Jordan's clothes for him. He had needed to go to LA for a show his band were playing. She remembered that day well, she had barely packed his suitcase when Jordan had stopped her by tickling her, she was laughing so hard, that they forgot all about packing and ended up wrapped in each others arms on his bed, she remembered his scent, touch and taste. She had remembered the feel of him inside her and the love they had for each other.

She was lost in her thoughts, drowned in memories of the past.

"ANGELA" shouted Matt. "GRAB ME A TOWEL WILL YA?". Angela snapped out of her thoughts and reached for a towel.

She hadn't stopped thinking about Jordan, ever. When Matt made love to her, she pretended he was Jordan. She could fantasise because she didn't think she'd ever be seeing him again.

Now the reality had hit her that he may well be at this reunion, she would be seeing him again after seven long years.

She felt the familiar butterflies once again rise in her and smiled sadly.


	2. Chapter 2

As Matt kissed her goodbye, Angela had an overwhelming sense of trepidation. The reunion was tomorrow night and she had decided to travel to Three Rivers ahead of Rickie, Tino and Rayanne so she could spend some quality time with her parents.

"See you in two weeks Angela, I'll find you something cool to bring back for you" Matt smiled.

He was so kind and thoughtful. He didn't say a lot but when he did it came from his heart, _exactly_ how Jordan used to be with her.

"Have a safe journey Matt, and ring me at my mom's when you arrive" She hugged him tightly, and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Laters beautiful" he smiled.

As Angela closed the door, she couldn't help but feel that she was closing the door on her relationship with Matt. She questioned her motives on marrying him ever since Rayanne stated the obvious to her the day before. Matt deserved more than she could give him, more than she was willing to give him. He had her body but he never did have her heart. She felt cruel to be decieving not only him but also herself.

She headed slowly up her stairs, and entered their bedroom. Looking through her wardrobe, she started to take out clothing for the weekend.

It was then that she found it. In front of her at the back of the wardrobe was a crumpled T-shirt. It was an old band shirt that Jordan had lent her years ago.

She picked it up and held it to her face, taking in the smell. It had his smell, Jordan's unique smell. A mixture of smoke, after shave and must from the years it spent in the back of her wardrobe.

She gently folded it and placed in in her suitcase, god knows why she packed it but she felt as though somehow Jordan would be going with her.

After packing, she picked up the phone and dialled her parents number.

"Hey Mom, it's Angela. I'm leaving in about five minutes, I should be at yours within the next couple of hours" she said.

"Angela!" came the voice of Patty " Dad's looking forward to seeing you honey, he wants to show you what he's done to the restaurant, we can't wait to see you, Danielle's excited too"

"Ok, I will check it out when I arrive Mom, I'll see you soon" She smiled, her dad was always renovating the restaurant every couple of years or so. She had managed to get her parents to always visit her, so she wouldn't need to set foot in Three Rivers again, so understandably her parent were excited about Angela's rare visit to them.

"Love you honey and drive safely" said Patty.

"I love you too Mom, see you soon" She hung up and looked at herself in the mirror. She hadn't really changed all that much, she had a figure now, and her hair was brown, other than some slight laughter lines at her eyes she didn't really look any older and could easily pass for being 21 instead of 27. She smiled to herself and brushed her hair.

Back in Three Rivers, Jordan was working underneath a beaten up old Red Plymouth. His old friend Shane was sitting on the counter talking away to him..

"So I was like, man..What's you're fuckin problem? I mean, I got him the loan right and the dude _still _ wasn't happy" Shane moaned.

"Dude, I can't believe you like , wear a suit now..I mean, you're mr fuckin bank clerk..Shane Jones a fuckin banker, ahaha" Jordan was laughing from underneath the car.

"Catalano, I got a job man, a good job..look at you , still working for you're uncle and still trying to get that hunk of junk working, it's been years man, she's never going to run smoothly..Give it up already and get a new car"

Jordan slid out from underneath Red. He scowled at Shane. "You know what this car means to me man.." he grumbled.

Jordan hadn't really changed either, his hair was darker and slightly shorter, but his face still remained as beautiful as it always was and his eyes were as blue and piercing as they had ever been.

He wiped his brow smearing oil across his forehead and Shane burst out laughing at him."Grease monkey"

Jordan frowned and re-wiped his brow in an attempt to clean off the oil, this only made it worse and now Jordan was covered in oil.

Shane stopped laughing and took a deep breath, he didn't really want to tell Jordan about the reunion as he knew that Jordan would be all weird about it, but he couldn't help it from coming out of his mouth.

"Liberty High is having a Ten year reunion tomorrow man" he said quickly.

Jordan looked up, not quite hearing what Shane had just told him. "Huh?" he frowned.

"There's like a reunion, you know, at our old high school. Thought it may be fun to like go.."

Jordan looked thoughtful and nodded slowly. "Sure, it could be fun...who do you think will be there?" he asked, not daring to meet Shane's eyes.

Shane shook his head "Look man,, I have no idea, I doubt _she'll _ be there Jordan, she hasn't like been in this town for Seven years man..." he trailed off, seeing the disappointment on Jordan's face.

"Shane, I've really fuckin tried man, but I can't get her out of my head. She like lost _our _baby and then just dumped me and took off..She totally fucked with my head man" he said sadly.

Shane jumped off of the counter and slapped Jordan on the back " Look man, you're safe..I doubt she'll be there. Let's just go, have a few beers and see old faces..See if any of the geeks have turned into hotties"

Jordan grimaced and laughed "yea, that Delia chick may be like a supermodel now" he laughed.

They both looked at each other and shook their heads "nah" they both laughed.

Driving into Three Rivers Angela took in the sights around her. Nothing had changed , not one bit. It was like going into a time warp. She passed Sharon's house and saw the building of Liberty High, as she rounded the corner she saw the coffee shop and Big Guy Burger. She smiled, it was all the same.

It was then she saw Red, parked inside a small garage. She gasped in recognition and pulled up to the other side of the road, opposite the garage.

It was Jordan's car no doubt. My god, he still lived here!! She craned her neck to see if she could spot him. All she saw was a guy wearing a suit, it definitely wasn't Jordan. She looked closer and recognised the suited man. It was Shane Jones, Jordan's best friend.

Before she could look away she saw a hand rise up beneath Red and shake Shane's hand. Shane went to walk away until he looked up and saw her.

Angela looked towards the floor of her car, hoping that Shane hadn't recognised her. She looked up and he was nowhere to be seen, she sighed and started her engine.

Just then she heard a loud rapping on her window, she looked up to see Shane's face glaring at her.

"You!" He said visibly shocked. Angela rolled down her window and gave him a worried smile.

"Hey Shane..." she muttered.

"What the hell are you doing back here Chase?" he glared, knowing the answer already.

"I wanted to go to the reunion Shane, that's all. Um..how have you been?" She wanted the ground to swallow her there and then, she could tell that Shane didn't want her around.

"Look Angela, I know you're folks are here , but I need you to stay away from Catalano. You fucked his head up leaving like you did, I'm just looking out for him. It's taken him years to get over you and I'm not about to watch him fall apart all over again..got it?" he was glaring at her, he couldn't believe the audacity of her to show up like she had.

Angela bit her lip and controlled her anger. "Shane the _last _thing I want to do is hurt Jordan again okay. We're not kids anymore and it has to be Jordan's decision to see me _not _yours, I'm going to this reunion and you can't or wont stop me"

Shane just scowled more and slammed his hand on the roof of her car. Angela started her engine, wanting to get away from him, the car spluttered and choked. It wouldn't start.

Both Angela and Shane just stared at each other in silence, both had a slight look of fear in their eyes.

Jordan walked over to them " hey man, you having trouble with your car?" he asked, wanting to help.

Shane started towards Jordan and tried to get him to back away " It's okay man, she'll deal with it"

Jordan looked at Shane in confusion and gently pushed him out of the way.

At the sound of his voice, butterflies started fluttering wildly in the pit of her stomach, she turned her head away from him so he wouldn't recognise her..

"Having trouble with your car maam? " He asked "I'm a mechanic, i can fix it for you real cheap"

Without looking at him she stuttered "It-it's ok..I-I' I'm fine t-thanks.."

Jordan walked right up to her car window and peered in. She turned to look at him and their eyes met.

Jordan's eyes widened in recognition and surprise. She looked stunning and he felt like he'd just been winded.

"Angela?" he asked softly.

Angela's heart was racing, her mouth was dry and she felt as though she were drowning in his eyes all over again.

"Hi Jordan" she whispered.


	3. Chapter 3

They stood there staring at each other for what seemed an eternity. Neither one of them knowing what to say. Shane coughed and put his hand on Jordan's shoulder. "I gotta get back to work man..You gonna be okay?" he asked, worried.

Jordan smiled faintly at Shane, he was glad his friend had broken the eye contact that he was maintaining with Angela.

"I'll be fine bro, go get to work before you're ass gets fired..I'll call you later on"

Shane slowly walked away, he turned back and shouted "Catalano, make sure you call me man.."

Jordan raised his hand to Shane and looked back towards Angela. She hadn't moved from her seat, she was now staring blankly at the road ahead.

He cleared his throat to make sure that he wouldn't sound strangled when speaking to her. He was churning up inside, she was beautiful and hadn't changed a bit, this face in front of him was the face he dreamed about for the last few years.

"So I um..better take a look at your car" was all he could manage to say.

"I'd appreciate that" she replied meekly. God damned piece of shit car had to break down in front of him didn't it she thought to herself.

Jordan held open her door for her so she could get out but she just sat there. He looked puzzled and reached out his hand to her, to help her out.

She looked up at him and gingerly took his hand. As soon as they made skin to skin contact a jolt of what seemed like electricity shot through both of their bodies. They immediately let go of each other's hands and looked at each other, both knowing they just felt the same thing.

Jordan didn't say a word, he climbed into Angela's car and pulled the choke. The car spluttered and sprang back to life.

He looked at Angela and smiled slyly "You never were too good with cars"

Angela smiled back and nodded in agreement "It's why I left all driving to you" she answered quietly.

Jordan was aching to pull her into his arms, to touch her face and say a million times how much he had missed her and craved her. It took everything in him to refrain from getting any closer than three steps away from her.

Angela looked into his beautiful oil smudged face and tears began to well up in her eyes. Jordan could see tears forming in Angela's eyes and his heart lurched for her.

"Jordan..." She began, scared of losing control. The phone in Jordan's garage began to ring and Jordan looked at it, relieved that he had an escape route.

"I have to get that Angela, I'm waiting on an important call"

Angela took a deep breath "Jordan, we have to talk..." Jordan took a step towards her, he looked down and reached out to touch her face, it was then he noticed her engagement ring and he recoiled his hand back, as though he'd been bitten by a snake.

He just kept staring at her ring and mumbled "You're getting married?"

Angela saw the pain etched in his face and let out a sob "Jordan, I can explain..we need to talk"

Jordan shook his head and started walking backwards towards the garage. "I have to get this call, You know where to find me..I-I live above the garage now...See ya around" the last few words that escaped Jordan's lips were strained, like he'd been burnt.

Angela wiped her eyes and got back into her car. "See ya around" she whispered.

As she drove off Jordan let the phone carry on ringing, there were so many unsaid things between them, so much pain and feelings that had never truly been forgotten. He watched her drive out of his sight and sank to his knees, hands covering his eyes and started to sob.

Angela could barely see the road through her tears. Why did she let Rayanne talk her into coming back here, all she was doing was hurting him all over again.

She wanted to have his arms around her, she wanted to stroke the back of his hair and tell him she still loved him. She wanted to say how much of an idiot she had been leaving him. She wanted to apologise for losing their child.

Oh my god the baby, the hurt was unbearable and she had felt that she had let him down. She felt abnormal and that he deserved better. That's why she left, he was heartbroken after the miscarriage and she couldn't give him what he craved.

She should never have come back.

She pulled into her mother's drive and burst out crying.  
Patty was waiting at the door for her and saw her daughter in tears. She ran towards Angela's car and pulled her into her arms.

"sweetheart, what on earth has happened?" she asked anxiously.

Angela buried her face into her mother's shoulders and sobbed louder. "Oh mom, I've hurt him all over again, I shouldn't have come back" she wailed.  
Patty held Angela for a long time , soothing her and helping ease her pain. Danielle had walked over to the car.  
By this time Angela's tears had subsided and she had finsihed telling Patty about her meeting with Jordan. Danielle climbed into the backseat.

"Guy's why are we sitting in a car?" she asked, puzzled.

Angela reached over and took Danielle's hand.

"How you been sis?" she asked , trying to sound bright. "I've been good" answered Danielle. "It's you who's clearly not"

Angela smiled and said"nice observational skills Danielle".

Danielle got out of the car and gestured for Angela to get out. "Right, after dinner you and I are going for a beer, you can tell me why you're so damn depressed"

Angela put her arm around her sister and an arm around her mother. " Beer sounds good, I'm starving mom, what have you cooked?"


	4. Chapter 4

Angela tucked into her meal, her mother didn't actually cook the meal, her father had. He was an awesome cook and Angela missed the home comforts.

Graham was smiling at Angela throughout the meal. Angela looked up at caught Graham gazing at her, she put down her knife and fork and met his eyes "What is it? Do I have food on my mouth?" she asked slightly annoyed.

Graham laughed and shook his head. "I've missed you, that's all. We hardly see you anymore Angela. It's nice to have my girls here together for once, that's all.." he smiled.

Angela smiled lovingly at her father, he was the only one out of her parents that didn't moan about her wanting to move away.

Patty had put up a hell of a fight to make Angela stay but Graham had set her free.

"I miss you guy's too, It's just I've been real busy with work..There's hardly any free time in real estate Dad"

Graham sighed and put a mouthful of pasta into his mouth.

Danielle had already finished eating and was waiting for Angela to finish so they could go for a drink. Danielle liked spending time with her older sister , it was a rare thing for them to do nowadays.

"C'mon Ang, I want to take you to this new club that's opened" she said impatiently.

Jordan and Shane were playing pool at 'Insomnia' a new club that had opened in Three Rivers, It was a small place but the beers were reasonably priced and you could hear yourself talk over the music.

Shane had lost the suit and was now wearing baggy combat trousers and a faded black T-shirt, his hair was down and he was wearing a bandana.

Jordan was wearing jeans and a chocolate brown T shirt, it showed his muscles and the contours of his chest.

"So, she's engaged huh?" asked Shane, pretending to concentrate on his shot.

Jordan took a huge swig of beer and nodded slowly " Yep...want another beer man?"

Shane didn't turn down the offer of beer, he could see that Jordan wanted to get drunk and he wasn't about to stand in his way.

While Jordan was at the bar , two blond girls were talking to Shane, giggling and flirting. Shane pointed towards Jordan and the girls waved at him.

Jordan waved back and looked at the barman. "Two beers..gimme two chasers with that as well please" He wanted to get drunk, he wanted to forget that Angela turned up today. The girls were cute. They weren't _Angela_ but they were cute enough.

Shane was teaching one of the girls to play pool and Jordan was drunkenly leant against the wall with the other girl stroking his face as Angela walked into the club.

The first thing she saw was this girls hands on Jordan's cheek. She looked away from them and tried to mask the hurting she felt.

Danielle ordered them beers without even realising that Jordan was there. "Here ya go Ang, drink up.." she handed Angela a bottle of beer and Angela took a few thirsty gulps.

Shane had disappeared into the bathroom with the girl he was playing pool with. Jordan was making small conversation with this other woman, not really liking her touching his hair or face. He only ever let Angela get that intimate.

He looked around the club, not really paying attention to what this chick was saying to him, it was then that he spotted her.

She looked so beautiful yet really sad..

They looked at each other and Jordan felt his pulse race, he then looked to the woman he was talking to. He looked back towards Angela and then hesitantly cupped the woman's face in his hands, exactly as he used to do to Angela. He lowered his head and kissed her.

Angela looked as though she had been slapped. Jordan was kissing another woman whilst his eyes were fixed on hers.

He didn't really want to kiss this girl, he just wanted to show Angela that if she could move on and be engaged to someone else, then he to could move on .

Angela put down her beer and told Danielle she needed air. Danielle shrugged and continued talking to some guy she had met.

Angela blindly searched for the exit, she needed the Image of Jordan and this other woman out of her head.

Jordan saw her leave and stopped kissing the woman in front of him. She was giggling shyly and stroking his arms.

"So, Am I coming back to your place tonight?" she asked hopeful.

Jordan shook his head "No, sorry..I shouldn't have kissed you..." he then walked away from her and headed towards where Angela had gone.

The rejected woman scowled and put her hands on her hips, frowning she muttered "Jerk.."

Angela had pulled off her engagement ring and was sitting on a small wall in the car park. She was staring at it and twirling it around in her fingers. Tears slowly running down her cheeks, she placed the ring in her pocket. She heard the familiar sound of a lighter being struck and then heard Jordan's voice..

"Why did you leave me?"

She swallowed hard as if trying to supress the lump in her throat escaping and turned around to face him.


	5. Chapter 5

Angela turned to Jordan, she saw the hurt and confusion in his face and he quickly looked away from her, taking a long drag from his cigarette.

"I had to..You were better off without me" she said sadly. Jordan walked towards her and bent his head down to her face.

"That's bullshit and you know it" he sneered. He rubbed his eyes and took a few paces back from her.

"I let you down , I let myself down. Jordan, you wanted that baby so much and I couldn't give it to you" she started crying and Jordan's attitude towards her softened a little.

"Ang, it wasn't your fault, these things happen sometimes. What hurt me more was you dumping me and taking off" he murmured, he wanted to hold her so badly right now.

Angela bowed her head, she knew she shouldn't have ran away but she was so scared that he would have left her first. She didn't know what to think or feel, all she knew was that she could barely handle her own grieving let alone someone else's.

"I couldn't watch you go through that hurt Jordan..."

Jordan sighed and took Angela's hand in his. "We need to talk properly, not outside in some car park. Let's go to my place"

Angela nodded her head. "Let me just go and tell Danielle where I'm going, I'll be right back.."

Jordan lit another cigarette as he waited for Angela. He heard footsteps approaching and turned to see Shane.

"Hey man, where did you get to? Why did you leave that hot chick?" Shane was a little drunk and finding it hard to maintain his balance.

"Angela turned up bro, I needed to see her, I got stuff I need to sort with her man" He looked towards Shane for understanding.

"Ah man no, she'll mess with your head again man..just let it go..Let _her _go" Shane was practically begging.

"I can't Shane, I can't let her go again..At least not without proper closure this time round"

Shane shook his head and shrugged " She'll keep on hurting you dude, just you wait and see.."

Jordan looked to the cigarette in his hand and before tossing it away said "That's a chance I'm willing to take"

Shane patted Jordan on the back and started to stagger home. "Hey Catalano.." he shouted.

"Yea?"

He staggered back over to where Jordan was stood and leant on him "You know where I am dude, if you like...need me or something"

Jordan slapped Shane on the back, grateful for his support. The thing about Shane was that no matter what , he stuck by his friends and respected their decisions. "Cheers man" he smiled.

Shane stumbled away and Jordan was left alone with his thoughts.

"Jordan, are you ready?" asked Angela. She had been watching the exchange between Shane and Jordan but decided to stand back and not interfere.

"Yea, let's go" he smiled. They walked side by side in silence, both thinking about the past and how they could have changed what had happened to make it all go so wrong.

As they had walked a couple of blocks the rain starting pelting down, viciously and unrelenting. Both Jordan and Angela started sprinting, shrieking with laughter, by the time they reached Jordan's apartment, they were both soaked to the bone.

Jordan got his door key and opened the door, he ushered a shivering Angela into his apartment.

"Some fuckin summer this is!" moaned Jordan as he took off his T-shirt.

Angela looked around his apartment, it was tidy and quite small compared to her house. The wooden flooring was shiny and he had black leather sofas and a wide-screen TV, there was a cosy woollen rug in the middle of the floor.

Angela stood there dripping, her clothes were saturated. She looked around and wrapped her arms around herself.

Jordan noticed how wet she was and pointed her towards the bathroom. "Go get out of those wet clothes, I'll grab you some of my clothes..you'll find a towel in the bathroom"

Angela went into his bathroom and looked around. His after shave was spread out on his bathroom sink and she took the lid off of one and inhaled deeply. Mmmmmmmm His smell, he smelt so good, she had never forgotten that.

She peeled off her clothing and wrapped herself in a huge cream towel, it felt so soft and warm on her wet, cold skin.

She walked back into the living room to see Jordan sat topless in his jeans on the leather sofa. He looked her up and down and smiled.

"I've never seen a towel look so good on someone"

Angela smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear. "I've never seen a man look as good as you topless" she whispered.

She sat down next to him and Jordan stood up to get her some clothes. "I'll be right back..Don't go anywhere"

Angela laughed, "Like I'm going to go anywhere wearing just a towel" .

He walked into his bedroom and before she could think of what she was doing, she automatically stood up and followed him.

As she went into his room, the first thing she saw was a framed picture of the two of them on his bedside table. They looked so happy and so in love. She felt tears brimming in her eyes as she looked at it.

Jordan turned around to find Angela standing right in front of him, in nothing but a towel.

"Ang, what are you doing?" he whispered. Angela slowly put her hands around his neck, she let her lips meet his and they kissed.


	6. Chapter 6

Jordan let his arms envelop her and kissed her with all the passion he had within him. The feel of her hand stroking his neck, her tongue in his mouth and the sheer scent of her drove him crazy. He let his head fall to her neck and he gently started kissing her softly just behind her ear, Angela moaned and pulled him in closer to her.

She had missed him so much and she had been foolish to end things so suddenly with him.

Jordan couldn't get enough of her, his fingers lightly traced the top of her towel, he was desperate to pull it away from her but restrained himself.

Angela cupped his head in both of her hands and looked into his eyes.

"I'm sorry" she whispered.

Jordan frowned slightly "Sorry? For what?" he was confused.

Angela broke away from their embrace and put on Jordan's T shirt and jeans, she needed a belt as they kept falling down and as she couldn't find one, she tied her wet shirt around her waist.

"Angela, what are you sorry for? What the hell is happening here?" he was getting frustrated at her, how one minute she could be falling into his arms and the next moment pulling away from him.

Angela faced Jordan, now fully dressed. "We came here to talk, I'm so sorry Jordan, I shouldn't have kissed you.."

Jordan rubbed his brow with one hand and placed his other hand in his pocket. "You shouldn't have kissed me because you're engaged or because you no longer feel anything for me? Dammit Angela, why do you do this to me?"

Angela's lip wobbled "I shouldn't have kissed you because I'm engaged.."

Jordan shook his head angrily "Why are you playing with me like this? If you love you're fiance why the fuck are you even here, what on earth do we have to talk about Angela. You left me, You broke my fucking heart and you left me..." his face looked stricken and Angela burst into tears.

"Jordan please listen to me..." Jordan had his back to her, he was shaking with rage and hurt. "I loved you so much, so much and I still do. But things have changed , _I've _changed"

Jordan turned to face her, tears streaming down his face. "So you don't want me any more I get it, you just came back here to crush any chance I thought I had with you right? Well congratulations Angela, I get the fucking message now..."

Angela reached out for Jordan but he pulled away from her. Sobbing ,she started to move towards him but he sidestepped her and pointed towards his front door. "I'd like you to leave now.." he couldn't look at her.

Angela wanted to tell him how she dreamt that her fiance was him, she wanted to tell him how much she yearned for him and regretted ever moving away..But she couldn't.

"Jordan can't we talk?" she begged.

"I don't think there's anything left to say Ang..." he said coldly.

As Angela headed for the front door she turned to Jordan and smiled bitterly "See, that's always been our problem Catalano, neither of us really sit down and communicate with each other"

He closed the door behind her and sat on the floor, his head resting against the door. He was angry, angry that he let his hopes be raised like that, he was angry at her for playing yet another game.

He stood up and grabbed her wet clothes, as he went to shove them into a plastic bag, he heard something fall onto the wooden floorboards. He looked down and saw Angela's engagement ring. He picked it up and placed it on his little finger, he opened a beer and drank slowly, never taking his eyes off of that ring.

Angela walked slowly back to her parent's house. Seeing Jordan, having him hold her like that was too much for her to bare. She knew she had to call off her engagement to Matt. She also realised that she had handled things with Jordan terribly, just like the last time she left him.

She was a mess, totally incapable of sorting out the mess she was in with Jordan.


	7. Chapter 7

Angela arrived back at her parents house to find Rickie and Rayanne sampling Graham's latest dish. She smiled at them, glad to see face's that would understand her predicament.

"Hey Guys! " She smiled.

"Angela, it's been too long girlfriend" crooned Rickie as he gave her a huge kiss on the cheek. She hugged him tightly, Rickie had been out of the country for the past few months and she had missed him terribly.

"Hey Angela, why are you wearing boy's clothes?" queried Graham, clearly confused. "Oh, I um, got soaked in the rain so Jordan lent me some clothes" she muttered quietly, knowing what her dad was about to say.

"You've seen Jordan? When? Angela , you're engaged to Matt remember, you can't go swanning round Catalano's whenever you feel like it now" He was clearly annoyed that She had contacted Jordan. He knew how much pain his daughter went through whilst dating that man and also knew it was the reason why she decided to move in the first place.

"Dad it was fine, really" she gave him a quick hug and motioned to Rayanne and Rickie that they were to go up to her room.

They got up in silence and headed upstairs to Angela's room.

Rayanne flounced onto her bed, and immediately starting quizzing Angela about her liaison with Jordan.

"So Angela, spill it...What happened?" She sat up crossed legs, clutching Angela's pillow in anticipation of a good gossip.

Angela thought back to what had happened with Jordan and started to cry again. Rickie and Rayanne immediately rushed to her side and comforted her.

"Aw sweetie, don't cry...what on earth happened?" asked Rickie, concerned.

"I couldn't say what I needed to say to him, and as usual I managed to totally fuck up" she cried.

Angela relayed the whole story to Rickie and Rayanne who listened intently. They never once interuppted her and they let her finish what she had to say before giving their advise.

"First and foremost you need to end this relationship with Matt Ang, it's based on a lie and it will hurt him more if you go ahead and marry him" Rickie had never sounded so serious before.

Rayanne nodded enthusiastically in agreement with Rickie. "Then you need to sit Catalano down and talk to him Angelica, I mean _really _talk.."

Angela shook her head. "I can't face Jordan again, not yet. The thing with Matt I'll do when he gets back. I'll ring him in a minute and explain that we need to talk when he gets back, I'm not dumping him over the phone"

Rayanne looked thoughtful, "want me to go see Catalano?"

Rickie and Angela looked at her in shock. They both then looked at each other and shook their heads laughing.

"Raynie, I really don't think that that would be a good idea" Rickie was looking at her as if she'd committed murder.

"No seriously, he still talks to Tino, we've spoken on the phone..I think He'd maybe talk to me"

Angela shrugged. All that had happened between Jordan and Rayanne was in the past, they were well over that and Angela no longer felt upset about the whole thing, they were foolish kids back then and Angela had accepted their apologies.

"Rayanne, if you think you can help, then go for it..I can't lose anything else can I?"

"Ok I'll go now, give me his clothes back Angela, I'll see him now before it gets too late."

Angela reluctantly changed and handed her Jordan's clothes.

"Good luck" said Angela, he was hoping on the miracle of all miracles and as it stood , Rayanne was the once to achieve this.

Jordan was stretched out on his sofa absent-mindedly watching television, he wasn't really watching the program, it was something to try and distract his thoughts of Angela cluttering his head.

He was disturbed by an impatient knocking on his door.

"Hold on already will ya..geesh I'm coming..." He answered the door and was faced with Rayanne Graff grinning at him, he noticed she had a carrier bag containing the clothes he lent Angela.

"Yo Catalano" She smiled as she sailed past him and placed herself on one of his armchairs. Jordan was perplexed, the last person he expected to see was Graff.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, scratching his head. Rayanne looked at him with a serious expression etched on her face.

"You and I need to talk Catalano, there's some things you need to know about Angela and why she's like she is with you.."

Jordan nodded and sat down on the chair opposite her. "I'm all ears" he said.

Rayanne tucked her legs underneath her, as if about to tell a child a bedtime story. "Angela has always and will always be totally in love with you man" she started.

Jordan raised his eyebrows in dis-belief at what Rayanne had just told him "Suuuuuuuure she is" he muttered under his breath.

"Jordan, do you really think it was easy for her to just leave you like she did? I mean, c'mon man think about it. You guy's were stoked about the baby, you were ecstatic as was Angela. You guy's had you're whole future mapped out. You two have never really been able to properly open up to each other, when you do start to make progress and communicate, you both suddenly take 3 steps back and it turns into a fight, you're both so fuckin stubborn. Jesus!"

Jordan nodded in agreement, he couldn't deny that listening wasn't his strong point. Jordan had always seen things in Black and White, never the in-between shades.

"Yea ok..you're right...How do you explain her leaving like that then?" he questioned.

Rayanne sighed and continued. "Jordan she lost _your_ baby, she felt like she had let you both down. She could see how much you were hurting and she too was a complete wreck. She didn't know how to move on from it, she couldn't look at you without seeing the pain that the miscarriage had caused. She tried to talk to you man, but you're way of dealing with it was burying your pain with alcohol..Man..She couldn't watch you self destruct. She thought that your lack of talking was because you resented her and she couldn't deal with that. She thought you _blamed_ her Jordan. She blamed herself and felt a failure as a woman. I was there Jordan, I saw the self-loathing she felt for herself.."

Jordan looked at he floor, his feet, anything that would prevent him from making eye contact with Rayanne, If he looked at her she would see the tears in his eyes and he wasn't about to cry in front of Graff..Not in a million years.

"I never _once _blamed her Graff" he whispered softly.

"No, not verbally I agree" she nodded "but, you pushed her away Jordan whether it was unintentional or not, you pushed her away. You refused to talk about the miscarriage and tried to pretend that it never happened. You backed away from her , wouldn't hold her and most importantly wouldn't grieve with her. You turned to drink, you got moody and Angela saw that as anger towards her.._That's _why she left..She figured you'd be better off without her"

Jordan looked up, his eyes puffy. " I was selfish, I love her so much it hurt to look at her so crushed. I wanted to tell her it'd be ok and that we'd get through it, but I was too afraid to upset her more. I wanted to hold her but I didn't want her thinking that I was pushing her , I wasn't intimate with her 'cos I was scared of going through it all again.."

Rayanne nodded sympathetically "Jordan..You should be saying this to Angela, you should have said this years ago"

Jordan swallowed hard "Yup, I know..When she left..I couldn't like..bring myself to ring her, she left to get away from me Rayanne.."

Rayanne stood up and handed Jordan his clothes. "You should have damn well followed her Catalano" she said sombrely.

"So how come she got engaged if she's still in love with me Graff?" he asked.

"She's fooled herself into thinking she could move on Jordan, she threw herself into the first relationship she could after you. You've heard of _rebound_ right? Well, that's exactly what she's done. Her fiance is a lot like you in many ways, thing is he's _not _you. Angela knows that and she realises now that she can't go ahead and marry him. She'll be finishing with him Jordan.

My question to you Catalano, is this..Are you ready to step up to the plate and actually talk to her, or will you carry on going round in circles? 'Cos I'm telling ya man..You guy's need to sort this out one way or another, once and for all"

Jordan rubbed his eyes and sighed sadly."I don't know what to say or do" Rayanne gave Jordan a hug and whispered into his ear "Yes, you do. You tell her what you just told me and you _listen _to her. You guy's need to grieve together and then, only then can you move forwards"

Jordan kissed Rayanne on the cheek and smiled "Thanks Graff, I like this new you..It suits you..being like..calmer.."

Rayanne laughed and gently punched Jordan's arm "It's called growing up Catalano, that and having a Tino"

Jordan laughed and walked Rayanne to the door "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the reunion?"

Rayanne nodded her head excitedly" you sure will...It'll be a blast"

Jordan smiled and saw Rayanne out of the door "Let's hope so" he smiled.

As Rayanne walked away Jordan called out to her "HEY GRAFF!"

Rayanne spun round and looked at him "yea?"

Jordan smiled "Thanks, and tell Tino I said hey"

Rayanne saluted him and headed back to Angela's house. She was filled with a sense of satisfaction that she could possibly have sorted things out for someone rather than added to the carnage.


	8. Chapter 8

Angela and Rickie were putting on their make-up for the reunion. Angela still wasn't too sure about Rayanne's reassurance that Jordan was willing to have a proper talk.

"I'm not sure if I should go Rickie"

Rickie sighed and took the eye-liner off of her "Don't be silly sweetie, it'll be fun and it'll be good to see old faces"

Angela looked at her reflection and sighed. " I rang Matt earlier, he knows that something is wrong. Oh Rickie, he sounded so upset. I'm dreading telling him"

Rickie put his arm over her shoulder and squeezed her. "Ang, It's better you end it now, than stand him up at the alter"

Angela sighed again and nodded "It's just going to be awkward, I _hate _awkwardness"

Rickie sat down on her bed and rolled his eyes "Angela, you escaping the _awkwardness _is what got you into this mess in the first place"

Angela turned to Rickie and smiled faintly "Thanks for reminding me of that Mom"

The doorbell rang and Graham's voice bellowed "ANGELA, RICKIE...RAYANNES HERE!"

Angela pulled Rickie up from her bed "C'mon then..Lets go.."

They both ran down the stairs and got into Tino's car. Tino was wearing a black suit, he had a great big gold medallion around his neck" Angela giggled at him. "Tino, you look like a pimp"

Tino turned to Angela and glared. "hey, this medallion cost me a month's pay packet, don't diss the bling" his glare turned into a wink and he smiled.

Rayanne was wearing a sliver dress, she looked sophisticated and a shadow of how people remembered her in high school.

"So Angelica, Rickie are you ready for this..once again gracing the halls of Liberty High?" she giggled. Tino turned to Rayanne and kissed her tenderly on the lips "Sweetheart you look amazing..This will be fun"

Rayanne laughed and held Tino's hand "Tino, you _never _went to Liberty High.._when _did you _ever _show for a lesson?"

Tino laughed "Baby, I was always there in spirit" he started the car and they headed for the high school.

The gym of Liberty High was packed. All around were old students giggling and hugging. A DJ was playing songs from the year they left and the place was buzzing with excitement.

Sitting on the bench was Brian Krakow, alone as usual and squinting at a woman trying to remember her name. The woman looked over at him and frowned in recognition. She was short but had a great figure , her long black curls hanging loosely down her back..She smiled at him and made her way over to where he was seated.

"Krakow? Is that you?" she asked.

"Um..yea..and you're like?" he asked puzzled, she seemed so familiar but he couldn't put his finger on her name.

"Delia" she replied.

"Oh my god..Delia Fisher!! You look so ...different!" he gushed, hardly believing who stood in front of him.

She giggled and shook his hand."I've lost a few stones, I model now. Not catwalk stuff obviously because of my height, but I do stuff for magazines" she smiled.

He took her hand and smiled shyly. "Would you like a drink..?"

Just then they were interrupted by an angry Sharon Cherski. "Stay _away_ from her Krakow" she glared, pulling Delia away from him.

Brian laughed at Sharon's anger. "Give it up Cherski, it's been 10 years already"

Delia laughed and hugged Sharon, amazed that after all this time Sharon hadn't forgotten the way Brian had treated her.

"It's ok Sharon, let's go get a beer.." They went to the drinks table and grabbed a few bottles of beer.

Rayanne, Tino, Rickie and Angela entered the gym. It felt so strange being back there and all were hesitant to move any further than they had to.

Tino scoured the place, looking for anyone he'd remotely remember. He spotted Shane and smiled. "HEY JONES OVER HERE!!" he waved frantically. Shane looked over to where the voice came from and instantly broke out into a huge grin.

He ran over and grabbed Tino into a bear hug. "Tino man, how's it going? Haven't seen you for years dude!"

Tino quickly released Shane, embarrassed that it may ruin his cool reputation. "Yea I'm good man. married now, and really happy.."

Shane raised his eyebrows in shock. "Wow you?Married?..To who?" Rayanne poked Shane in the ribs and smiled "Hey Jones" Shane looked from her to Tino and then back to Rayanne, he smirked and said "I always thought you guy's would hook up y'know, how's it going Graff"

"Things are going great Shane" she smiled as she cuddled into her husband.

Angela and Rickie were watching the people on the dance-floor, Rickie was itching to dance, but didn't want to leave Angela alone.

Shane nodded to Angela and said " Catalano is on his way, he's running a bit late" Angela smiled faintly and looked at Shane "Thanks" she smiled. "Yea y'know whatever.." Shane replied "Just sort it out already, you guy's stress me out"

Rickie was watching the dancing, eager to join in. He felt arms slide around his waist and turned to see Delia grinning up at him. He recognised her instantly and gave a huge hug. Just then they heard it, that song..

_What is love Baby Don't hurt me, Don't hurt me...No more..._

They looked to each other with wide grins "It's our song!" squealed Delia.."Let's dance!" Rickie didn't need asking twice, they both flew onto the dance-floor and starting gyrating madly.

Angela was laughing at Rickie and Delia, it was like being back in time seeing them have so much fun together. She looked towards the entrance to the Gym and saw Jordan leaning against a wall, watching her. Their eyes met and he smiled faintly, Angela waved slightly and smiled back.

Shane saw Jordan and Angela staring at each other and he gently shoved Angela in Jordan's direction. "Go, sort it out" he whispered encouragingly.

Angela took a deep breath and started walking slowly towards Jordan. He didn't wait for her, he turned and left the Gym. Angela had to run to catch up with him.

When she got outside, Jordan was leaning against the wall smoking. "Why didn't you stay in there?" she said , a little out of breath through running after him.

"Too noisy" he shrugged. Angela just stood there staring at him, Jordan was looking around, not daring to look into her eyes.

"So, Graff, like..came over and we talked" he said simply. Angela bowed her head and muttered "I know"

He lifted her chin with his hand and said" Why couldn't you come back? It would have been a hell of a lot less awkward"

Angela placed her hand over Jordan's and whispered "I'm here now, and that's what matters right?" Jordan gave her a small smile and whispered back" Yea ,you're here now"

Jordan pulled her into a hug and buried his face in her hair "So now we sit down and talk okay? Neither one of us will shout, or run out on each other alright?"

Angela looked into his eyes and nodded. "Agreed, but not here. Let's go back to yours"

Jordan took Angela's hand and they headed for his apartment, this time there was no rain, there were no feelings of doubt and there was no silence. They both talked about old times, about school and the things they used to do, they didn't talk about the important stuff, that would be saved for the privacy of his apartment.


	9. Chapter 9

Jordan let Angela into his apartment, she walked over to the armchair and sat down, putting her hands nervously on her knees.

Jordan headed for the kitchen "Want a coffee? " he asked. "Sure" she replied, it was probably best that they stuck to non-alcoholic drinks.

Jordan made two cups of coffee and handed one to Angela , he sat on the sofa and cradled his cup in his hands.

"Angela, I never blamed you for the miscarriage. I handled things all wrong, I should have got through the whole thing sober and not drunk. I thought I could block out the pain and in some way thought I was protecting you..Being drunk was the only way I could pretend that it hadn't happened.."

"I wanted that baby so much Jordan, I had begun to think about buying stuff for it, I was totally wrapped in the idea of us being a mommy and daddy.." she said quietly.

Jordan met her eyes with his "I know you did babe, I did too" Angela sighed deeply and took a small sip of her coffee before continuing.

"The day after I lost it, I tried to talk to you, I wanted you to hold me and tell me we'd be ok. Jordan, you wouldn't come near me and couldn't even look me in the eye. You were hurting so much and you wouldn't share it with me. I thought it would have made us stronger together and instead we seemed to totally distance ourselves from one-another..."

Jordan stood up and walked to where she sat. He sat on the arm of the chair and put his arm around her shoulder. She rested her head on his chest and could hear the rapid pounding of his heartbeat.

"I can understand why you left Angela, truly I can. I couldn't be the person you wanted me to be because I didn't know how we could recover from the loss of the baby, I had turned to drink to ease my pain and I never realised that you thought I blamed you. It should have been me you turned to, I should have cried on you and let out my pain with you..not a whiskey bottle. I'm so sorry..."

Angela tightened her arms around Jordan's waist. Jordan kissed the top of her head.

"You've always been the one for me Angela , always. If I could change everything that happened I would do things so damn differently, believe me I would"

"and I wouldn't have ran away" she whispered. She looked up at him and her bottom lip trembled.

"I've missed you so much.." She started sobbing into his chest.

Jordan felt a lump in his throat, he had waited for years to hear her utter those words. "Can we start over?" he asked pleadingly. "I don't think I can lose you again"

Angela swivelled in her chair, she sat on her knees and reached out her hands to cup his face. The butterflies returned as she looked into his eyes, he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a deep kiss. Angela didn't pull away, she stood up still locked to his lips and held him tightly to her. Jordan's breathing became heavy and he let out a moan, his hands slid down her back and rested on her ass.

Angela pressed her body into him and Jordan stood up, head to head and still kissing they backed into the sofa. Jordan lowered Angela down onto the soft leather, he wanted to be inside her, he wanted to taste her and to hear the moans escape from her that only he was capable of making her scream out. Angela was kissing Jordan harder and more urgently, she had missed his hands on her , she had missed being this close with him. Nothing else felt more right that being as one with him.

She fumbled with his belt and undid the button of his jeans, Jordan hoisted up her skirt with one hand and his fingers then found a way into her underwear, he rubbed her slowly and firmly, Angela gasped with delight. He pulled his mouth away from hers, Angela looked into his lust filled face, he looked drunk on her.

Jordan whispered huskily into her ear "I love you so much..."

Angela nibbled his ear, making Jordan moan with pleasure and a hint of pain, she gently took a hold of his erection and massaged it slowly, they were both wet and both ready. Jordan leant over her as Angela parted her legs for him, as he slid into her he pulled her up into a sitting position, Jordan was supporting both of their weights on his own.

He backed Angela up against the wall and thrust as hard and far as he could into her, Angela screamed out in ecstasy and grabbed Jordan's hair tightly, Jordan thrust harder and faster and Angela matched her pace with his.

They both reached climax at the same time, Jordan rested his head on Angela's chest and Angela let her head fall onto his.

Both were against the wall panting, Jordan felt Angela unwrap her legs from him and soon they were both holding one-another tightly.

Jordan looked at her, she was glowing and looked radiant. He smiled and stroked her cheek tenderly. His heart felt like it was about to burst, he was so happy he felt complete once again.

"Are you okay?" he asked her concerned. She looked as if she were about to cry again.

"I'm fine Jordan, I'm just happy" she smiled through her tears.

They held each-other for a couple of hours, talking and making plans for their new future together. Angela and Jordan knew that there was still Angela's engagement to Matt to break off, but Jordan wasn't about to let guilt come in the way of what he loved and wanted most in life.

"We should get back to school" Angela said dreamily.

Jordan laughed at her and kissed her forehead gently " There's another thing you always used to say, you always ruined my fun" he joked.

Angela giggled thinking back to the time they'd skip lessons to make out in Red in the school car-park.

"We have to go back Jordan...We're expected" She said semi-impatiently.

Jordan sighed, was it so wrong to want to be alone with her after all these years he thought."Okay..C'mon"

His arm wrapped tight around her, they walked back to Liberty High both excited to have re-kindled what they thought had long been lost to them.


	10. Chapter 10

Jordan and Angela arrived back at Liberty High and walked hand in hand through the corridoors, they grinned at each-other as they passed the boiler room, Angela had to drag Jordan away from there as he was rooted to the spot outside the door with a mischievous smile on his face. "Jordan..._NO WAY!" _she laughed as she tugged on his hand.

They walked passed Angela's old locker "I wonder if the combination is still the same" he mused as he fiddled with the lock, naturally after Ten years it had changed and Jordan reluctantly gave up trying.

Music was blaring from the gym as they stood outside, clutching each-others hands tightly. Jordan turned and smiled at Angela, "You know what?" he asked her.."I think I may even dance with you tonight", Angela smiled and kissed him.

Sharon Cherski was the first person to see Angela and Jordan re-appear. She ran up to her old friend and hugged her tight.

"Angela, it's so good to see you back here, you haven't been back home for years, I've missed you" Angela hugged her friend tight "I know Sharon, I'm sorry about that"

Jordan smiled at Sharon and said "She'll be back here permanently if I get my way". Sharon looked from Angela to Jordan and rolled her eyes "The sage continues.." she joked. "Come on guy's go get yourselves a drink.." She led them to the table laden with beers and spirits and Jordan made Angela a vodka and coke. He grabbed a beer for himself and handed Sharon a Martini.

Rickie was in his element, he hadn't stopped dancing for three hours, Delia was sitting chatting to Brian who by now had his eyes fixed on Angela. Delia noticed Brian staring at Angela, "You can't seriously still like ..be in love with her can you?" she asked, waiting on his answer.

Brian shook his head "No, I'm over that.. We were never going to happen and I accepted that long ago Delia. Look, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for being such a jerk to you all those years ago.."

Delia smiled, Brian had said it with so much sincerity and she admired that. "It's okay Brian, we were young and foolish back then" she smiled at him and Brian blushed.

He looked at her face and then looked to the floor, eyes still transfixed to the floor he said "You know Delia, I always did think you were beautiful, when I realised the mistake I had made it was too late to win you back"

Delia just looked at him, small smile forming on her mouth."You've changed Brian, you're like..waaaaay cuter now than you were back then"

Brian was staring at her lips, he tilted his head and kissed her. Delia responded back much to his surprise. His arms went around her and they kissed passionately.

Shane was on his fifth beer, he looked around the hall and saw Delia and Brian kissing. He almost spat his beer out in shock.

He punched Tino in the arm to get his attention, "Man, how the hell did that geek manage that..look!" He pointed to where Delia and Brian sat and Tino laughed.

"School reunions eh?" laughed Tino "Nothing beats 'em"

Angela was talking to Rickie and Rayanne, she was telling them all that had happened with Jordan earlier. Rickie wiped his eyes, the poor guy was emotional and extremely happy that they had both finally seen sense.

"Rickie, don't cry.." Rayanne handed him a tissue from her purse.

"It's just so sweet and like..meant to be" he sniffed.

"So Angela, will you be moving back here now?" asked Rayanne, she wanted her best friend to be closer to her, travelling to visit Angela was such a hassle, it would be cool if they lived closer together.

"Yes, after I've sorted things with Matt, I'll be moving in with Jordan" she smiled, butterflies in her stomach , excited at the prospect of waking up next to him every day.

Rayanne started playing with her hair and looked at Angela. "Do you want me to be with you when you tell Matt?" she asked. She was concerned things may go wrong, horribly wrong.

"Matt and I need to talk alone Rayanne, I'll be fine..It's best he doesn't have an audience when I finish with him y'know. He deserves better than that" Angela thought back to Matt and how much he adored her, it was going to be hard breaking his heart.

Shane and Jordan were leaning on the wall, Shane was leering at all the chicks and Jordan was laughing at him. "Shane, when are you gonna get yourself a girl to settle down with huh? I mean..you're nearly Thirty man, how many one night stands can you have?"

Shane looked at him and smirked. "Dude, no-strings is far better, far less complicated. Look at you and Angela..need I say more?"

Jordan nodded his head and shrugged, Shane had a point, he and Angela had spent a long time trying to get it right. He smiled to himself when it dawned on him that this time round things were going to be perfect for them.

The lights dimmed and the slow songs began to play. Jordan bristled and the hairs on his neck stood on end. He remembered that he'd told Angela that he would actually dance with her tonight.He cringed at the thought of having to dance.

He looked around for her, only to see her standing on the other side of the room looking at him expectantly.

"Gah, mushy shit!" scoffed Shane, "let's go for a smoke man.." He looked to Jordan who shook his head slowly.

"I promised my girl a dance man, and that's what I'll be doing" he said quietly.

Shane laughed at him and playfully slapped his back "Pussy!", he giggled at Jordan and headed outside for a smoke.

Jordan walked boldly up to Angela and held out his hand for her. "Will you dance with me?" he asked, eyebrows raised.

Angela took his hand and looked at him coyly "Why Mr Catalano, I'd _love _to"

Jordan led her onto the dance-floor and pulled her closely to him, he nuzzled his head into her neck and cradled her gently, both were swaying to their own love song.

Jordan gave a short laugh and sighed, Angela looked up at him puzzled "What's wrong?" she asked perplexed.

"Ah nothin', I just never thought I'd be holding you again, let alone dancing in public with you" he smiled.

Angela wrapped her arms tighter around Jordan and peeked over his shoulder at the other couples on the dance-floor.

She saw Delia and Brian almost eating each-other alive, she giggled to herself and then saw Tino and Rayanne completely lost in each-other dancing.

She smiled and buried her face into Jordan's neck, she kissed him softly "I love you Jordan Catalano" she whispered.

"Ditto" replied Jordan, nibbling on her ear.

Angela smiled, she felt overwhelmed by hapiness and didn't want this night to end.


	11. Chapter 11

The following morning Angela woke up to Jordan smiling down on her. "Good morning gorgeous" he smiled lovingly.

Angela propped herself up on her elbows and kissed him on his chin."mmm now that's a wake-up call" she murmured still half asleep.

Jordan had made her breakfast and she could smell freshly made coffee. "I'm starving" she mumbled as she climbed out of Jordan's bed.

"I've made you breakfast babe, It's on the kitchen table..I'm just gonna have a quick shower" he kissed her lightly on the lips and headed for the bathroom.

Angela sat at the kitchen table and smiled, she couldn't wait to move in with him and be this happy every day. As she bit into her toast ,she reached into her purse for her cellphone. She switched it on and saw that she had received Eight missed calls and had voice messages, that'll be my parent's wondering where I am she thought. She checked the caller ID and the number wasn't recognised. She then listened to her voice mail, her mouth dropped open when she heard the message...

_Angela it's Matt. Where the hell are you? I've called you at least a dozen times._

_Look, I've been thinking about you're phone call and it's worried me. I've cut my business trip short and I'm on my way to Three Rivers, I'm worried Ang..Whatever it is we can sort it out okay? Okay?_

_Look, I'll be at you're folks house by noon, see ya then. I love you._

Angela listened to the message again and her heart raced "Fuck!" she said aloud, the last thing she wanted was Matt turning up in her home town.

She rubbed her eyes and swallowed, she was getting worried. She looked at the time and saw that it was 10.45am.

Jordan came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a small towel and his hair still damp. He was brushing his teeth and frowned when he saw Angela's worried expression.

"What's up?" he said, his mouth still full of toothpaste and spit.

Angela took a deep breath and blurted "Matt's coming here, not here, I mean my parent's, Jordan I have to leave, like now!"

Jordan walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. He scratched his chin and looked at her concerned.

"Want me to come with you?"

"NO! Gasped Angela, "God, I'm breaking up with him Jordan, the last thing he needs to see is the man I've left him for..Babe I'll be fine honestly, this is something I need to do alone, Matt is a good guy..he deserves to be let down as gently as possible"

Jordan wasn't too happy at the prospect of Angela seeing this Matt guy, but he understood that she had lived with him for the last year, he knew he could trust her and that it was him she truly loved.

"Take your phone and call me if stuff gets ...complicated" He kissed her briefly and went back into the bedroom to get dressed.

Angela hurridely got dressed and kissed Jordan goodbye before she left his house.

By the time she reached her parent's house Angela was a bag of nerves. She burst into the kitchen to find Patty and Graham sat at the table glaring at her. Graham looked pissed.

"Where the _HELL _have you been Angela, Matt's been ringing all night!" Graham looked at her impatiently looking at her for answers.

"Dad, I've been with Jordan" she said meekly. Patty rolled her eyes and looked to Graham. Graham just scowled even more.

Graham stood up and towered over Angela, she'd never seen her dad look so pissed off.

"Angela Chase you are ENGAGED to be MARRIED what the hell are you doing with another MAN!" he shouted.

Angela could feel the anger rising in her, Jordan wasn't another man, he was her one and only true love.

"Dad, I love Jordan..I've always loved Jordan.. We've worked things out, we're back together"

Graham slammed his fist on the table " You already have a man Angela, this isn't fair to Matt" he growled.

Angela got angrier and before she could control what she was saying she blurted " And did you think about what was fair to Mom when you had that affair with Hallie Lowenthal dad? Don't you _DARE_ take the moral high ground with me... Dad, you were as bad as me.."

Patty threw her hand to her mouth, shocked at the way Angela had stood up to her father. Angela wasn't done yet, she was seething , she continued her verbal assault on Graham..

"I'm 27 years old Dad, I'm not a kid any-more, I'm well aware of what's happened and I'll be sorting things out with Matt. I'll be calling off the engagement and ending my relationship with him. Don't ever tell me what I can or can't do with my life, 'cos it's just that..My life!" She turned her back on her parents and ran up to her room, shaking with anger and nerves.

She sat on her bed watching the clock tick by slowly, 11.45, fifteen minutes or so and Matt would be in front of her. She reached for her cellphone and called Jordan.

"Hey Jordan" she said quietly.

"Hey baby, everything alright?" he sounded concerned,

"Everything's fine, I'm waiting for Matt to arrive, I just wanted to hear your voice.."

"Angela, I'll come round if you want, seriously.."

"It's fine honey, don't worry..I better go..I'll call you later on"

"Angela wait.." he sounded agitated

"Yea..?" she whispered

"I love you, see you real soon okay?"

"Definitely" she smiled " I love you too" She hung up and took a few deep breaths.

Angela had pretty much figured out what she was going to say to Matt in her head. of course she realised it wouldn't exactly go to plan, but she knew how she wanted to say it.

11.55 am the doorbell rang, Angela headed down the stairs and answered the front door. Matt stood in front of her holding the biggest bunch of flowers she had ever seen. She smiled sadly at him and let him in.

She led him to the living room and he sat down on the sofa, looking slightly baffled as to why Angela wasn't jumping for joy at the sight of him.

Patty and Graham came out of the kitchen and greeted Matt awkwardly.

"Um..Patty and I have got to go grocery shopping Matt, we can't stay..um..See ya" Graham shook his hand and they left the house.

Matt shook his head and looked to Angela questionly.."well, that was..odd..Ang..What the fuck is going on?"


	12. Chapter 12

Angela paced the room nervously, Matt hadn't taken his eyes off of her. "Angela, sit down..What the hell is going on?" He looked and sounded worried.

Angela sighed and sat opposite him "I don't know where to start " she mumbled. He sighed and looked at her impatiently "Let's try from the beginning shall we?"

Angela took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Okay, you remember what I told you about Jordan right?" Matt's eyes narrowed and he suddenly looked very scared..

"Yea...What about him Angela?" He knew what was coming and his heart sank.

"Well, I've never really got over him Matt, Don't get me wrong I do care about you heaps, but I've only ever truly loved one man..and that's Jordan" Matt bowed his head and looked to the floor.

"Angela, you agreed to marry me and now you're saying you were on some kinda _rebound?"_ His voice was strained and he was trying desperately to keep it together.

Angela started to feel hot tears falling down her cheeks "I'm sorry Matt, I should never have got involved with you so soon, I knew I wasn't ready for a relationship and I fooled myself as well as you, I'm so sorry"

Matt looked up to her, tears in his eyes " You've seen him again haven't you?" his face was taught with pain as if he'd been slapped.

"Yea, I have" she whispered. Wishing that he wouldn't probe her on exactly how much time she had spent with Jordan.

"What happened between you two Angela, what the fuck has happened to make you back out of our relationship?"

Angela thought long and hard before she answered, she wanted to spare him the details, "We talked , that's all..We just talked things through and realised that we had both made mistakes in the past.."

Matt laughed out loud bitterly " Christ Angela, so now I'm a mistake huh?" Angela bit her lip and shook her head "I never wanted to hurt you Matt" she cried.

Matt stood up and walked towards her " Then you shouldn't have agreed to be my fucking wife then Angela, do you get some kind of kick out of doing this to people?"

She shook her head "No, Matt...I'm sorry...I can't live a lie, I'm sorry I've hurt you but if I married you, I'd hurt you even more.."

Matt was getting angry "I go away for Three fucking days and come back to you dumping me..That's just fucking SWELL Angela"

"I'm sorry" she whispered, she hated seeing him hurt.

"You're sorry, you're sorry, how many times are you gonna apologise Angela..Change the god damn record already" he stormed.

Angela sighed and before she could respond Matt turned to her and said " I'm leaving..I'll send you your things..through delivery..Don't come back to the house..I can't bare to look at you...Have a nice life Angela" the last sentence was full of cold bitterness, He turned away from her and left.

Angela sat down on the sofa and cried, tears of sadness for Matt but mainly relief that the hard part was over with and she could now concentrate on her and Jordan,


	13. Chapter 13

Jordan was cleaning engine parts in his garage, he had managed to cut himself at least four times within the last hour. He kept thinking of Angela and prayed that she was okay.

He turned up the radio and slid underneath Red, humming along mindlessly to the song blaring out.

Angela crept into his Garage and sat watching him hum as he worked, his oily overalls looked extra sexy on him and she could see the sweat pouring off of his arms.

She turned the radio down and Jordan immediately looked to see who had tampered with his radio. Angela stood over him smiling broadly.

He got to his feet and hugged her. "Everything is okay right?" he asked

Angela pulled him into a deep kiss and replied "I'm all yours"

Jordan laughed and picked her up, he spun her round and buried his face in her hair. At last they could start over, things would be better and they would be stronger than they ever had been.

A lot happened over the next Three months, Angela had transferred her work to Three Rivers and She and Jordan were adjusting to living together. Angela got annoyed at Jordan's refusal to lower the toilet seat, Jordan complained about Angela's make-up and accessories cluttering his bathroom, it was a completely normal and well balanced relationship.

They had spent their days, going on long walks, visiting friends, clubbing and seeing live bands. Patty and Graham had begrudginley accepted that Angela and Jordan were together and Jordan had even helped out Graham now and then in his restaurant.

They were happy and totally in love.

Jordan had made breakfast for him and Angela, he liked doing it and had even started to put a fresh flower next to her cereal bowl.

"Baby, breakfast is ready.." he called to her. She had been in the bathroom longer than usual. "Ang..Breakfast.." He tapped the bathroom door concerned. "Baby, is everything ok?" He heard the bathroom door unlock and Angela walked out looking as white as a sheet.

"Angela, are you not feeling too good? You're looking really pasty" he stroked her hair and looked at her concerned.

"I'm not feeling too good Jordan, I hardly slept last night and I'm feeling kinda sick," She looked at him sheepishly.

Jordan sat at the table and held Angela's hand, he recognised these symptoms, she'd been like this before. Angela thought the same thing and looked at Jordan, fearful yet undeniably excited.

Jordan reached for his phone. "I'm making you an appointment for the doctors" Angela nodded, scared of raising their hopes once again she remained silent.

Jordan sat down opposite Angela and took both of her hands in his. "You're scared aren't you baby" he whispered softly.

Angela bit her lip and nodded. " Jordan, it could just be a stomach bug..."

Jordan stood up and wrapped his arms tightly around her " Whatever it is Ang, we'll be in this together okay?" He kissed her neck and comforted her but his insides were churning, fear was rising in him and he had to fight to suppress it.

The doctor looked through Angela's medical records, Jordan and Angela noticed that her left eyebrow was slightly raised.

She looked at them both and then to Angela "When was your last menstrual period Miss Chase?" she asked concerned.

Angela tried to think but her mind was blank. "I've um..I've had a real busy few months..I can't remember the exact date.." She mumbled. Jordan held her hand a little more tightly and answered for her " She's been living with me for 12 weeks doc, she hasn't had no bleeding.."

Angela thought about what Jordan was saying, it was true, they had made love everyday since she moved in and she had no sign of _any _period.

The doctor coughed and handed Angela a pregnancy test. "Could you pop into the bathroom and urinate on this please, it'll confirm if you're pregnant or not"

Angela gingerly took the test from the doctor and turned to Jordan. He laughed at her and said "Babe, I'll stay here, I can't come in there with you"

Angela smiled , of course he couldn't go into the bathroom with her. "I'll be right back" she said quietly, nerves having the better of her.

She went into the bathroom and locked the door. Her mind was racing, she couldn't go through this again, not when everything was going so well with her and Jordan.

She took the stick out of the packet and peed on it. Closing her eyes she placed the stick back into it's sleeve and went back into the doctors office.

"Ok, we'll know in three minutes" smiled the doctor, she could see the scared expressions on the couple's faces.

Angela and Jordan just sat there in silence hardly daring to breathe. The doctor kept smiling at them reassuringly. Angela coughed but it came out as a strangled sob.

The doctor leant forward and handed Angela a tissue.

"Miss Chase, I see here you miscarried seven years ago" Angela nodded, fear tightening in her stomach.

"you miscarried at 10 weeks Angela, that's usually a dangerous stage for a pregnancy, You've told me that you haven't had a period for Three months so I'm guessing it's safe to say the pregnancy is well established _IF_ you are indeed pregnant" She smiled and nodded reassuringly at Jordan who looked as though he might pass out any minute.

The doctor continued talking " Naturally you'll have a scan to confirm the date of conception, we'll know for sure then" she smiled.

She picked up the test and looked at it. She looked to Angela and Jordan and a wide grin spread across her face.

"Well Miss Chase and Mr Catalano..Congratulations, you're pregnant"

Jordan's eyes widened, he looked to Angela who was barely smiling, she looked in shock. He felt the tears well in his eyes and stood up, Angela stood up as well and shook the doctors hand. "Um..thanks...What do we do now?" she asked.

The doctor smiled and said "I'll book you in for a scan next week, go home and rest..Don't worry I'm sure it'll be fine if you look after yourself and get plenty of rest"

Jordan put his arm around Angela, stunned. He didn't know whether to scream out in joy or cry through fear of history repeating itself.

Angela held fast to Jordan, she felt faint and her head was pounding. "Let's go home.." she whispered.


	14. Chapter 14

Angela had booked some time off of work, she didn't want to rush around showing prospective buyers around houses all day.

Jordan couldn't do enough for her and she was starting to go a little stir crazy being in the apartment all day, it had been five days since the doctors appointment and Jordan and Angela made a conscious effort not to discuss the pregnancy until they had the scan.

Angela was curled up on the sofa reading a magazine, Jordan was working in his garage. Rickie and Rayanne had visited them a few days before and both of them found it incredibly hard not to tell them their news.

Angela had started being sick on a daily basis, all the magazines she had read had hinted that morning sickness was a sign that the pregnancy was normal, Angela had actually began to welcome the nauseating feelings that washed over her, she still worried over every twinge or ache she felt but she had managed to hide that from Jordan.

She went into their kitchen and started making them sandwiches, Jordan would be back soon for some lunch. As she was slicing the ham the phone rang and made her jump, she accidently cut her thumb on the carving knife.."Dammit" she cursed as she wrapped her finger in a tea towel. She picked up the phone..

"Hello?"

" Hello, is that Miss Chase?"

"Speaking.."

"This is Three Rivers General Hospital, Just letting you know we have an appointment for your pre-natal scan, tomorrow at 10 am, is that convenient?"

Angela closed her eyes and smiled " Sure, we'll be there, thank you"

She hung up and looked for a plaster for her finger. Jordan opened the door and walked in to see Angela dripping blood on the floor. " Ouch, that looks nasty, how did ya manage that?" he said, taking her hand in his and staring at her cut.

Angela smiled "I decided to give you a finger sandwich instead of a ham sandwich"

Jordan chuckled " Well, if it's _your _finger I'm sure it'll taste delicious" he kissed her on the cheek and put the plaster on her finger for her.

They both sat at the kitchen table and Jordan tucked into his lunch, as he was chewing, Angela leant over the table towards him.

"The hospital just rang, we've got our scan tomorrow morning"

Suddenly the bread in Jordan's mouth felt like rock and he had difficulty swallowing it. "wow. already?" he said.

Angela let herself smile, last time she was pregnant they never got as far as seeing the baby in a scan. "How do you feel?" she asked. "Um, excited I guess" he smiled. Inside he was more than excited , he wanted to scream out to the world that tomorrow he'd be seeing his child for the first time, but he chose to sound calm and collected when answering to Angela.

"I'm excited too" she smiled.

The following morning Angela was doing her routine throwing up into the toilet. Jordan was holding her hair back from her face and rubbing her back. "Ang, this wont last forever babe, it'll pass soon" he tired to reassure her whilst trying not to vomit himself.

Jordan drove them to the hospital and as they were sitting in the waiting room, Angela couldn't help but notice all of the expectant parents sitting together, wild excitement in their eyes. Angela wanted to feel that too but she kept telling herself that soon she would, but not yet, not until they had the all clear.

Jordan was walking around looking at all the poster of babies on the walls. He giggled at a picture of a row of babies, all with bare ass's. "Ang, Look...How cute are they?" he looked at her and Angela saw for the first time the excitement in his eyes, she saw how much he wanted this child and prayed that they'd get what they so dearly craved. A family of their own.

The doctor called Angela's name "Miss Chase..If you'd like to come through.." He gestured for Angela and Jordan to follow him and Jordan grabbed Angela's hand and squeezed it in anticipation.

They were led into a white room, Angela climbed up onto the hard bed and lifted her shirt. The doctor squeezed some gel into his hands "I must warn you Miss Chase, if the foetus is under 9 weeks you may not see much of it, I'm putting some gel on your tummy now, it may feel cold, sorry about that"

Angela looked to Jordan as the gel was placed on her stomach. Jordan was holding her hand and looking into her eyes, he stroked her hair trying to silently reassure her..

Please god let it be over the 12 weeks thought Angela. They both turned to the monitor as the doctor ran the scanning device over her belly. Then they saw tiny limbs and a tiny head, it looked like an astronaut orbiting around space. Jordan smiled, and squeezed Angela's hand tighter. "Oh my god, there's our baby" he whispered, his voice full of wonder.

The doctor pointed out all of the parts of their child " and that there fluttering away is it's heartbeat, which I'm pleased to say is extremely strong and healthy." Angela felt tears rolling down her cheeks, she could burst right there and then with pride and love for this little person inside her. Jordan placed one hand on her belly and the other hand on the monitor " hey there little guy" He whispered, his voice cracking with emotion.

The doctor tapped in some measurements on his computer and turned back to Jordan and Angela.

"Ok guy's Judging by my measurements , you're exactly 14 weeks, you are now in your second trimester, the baby is strong and healthy and you are past what we call the danger zone" he smiled at them.

Jordan looked up with tears in his eyes " So we can tell people now right? I mean, it's safe?" he was still worried that there was a chance that something could fuck up.

The doctor smiled reassuringly " Go spread the news, you guy's are going to be parents..It's safe..you're all ok"

Jordan wiped his eyes and bent down to kiss Angela, she was sobbing with relief and stroking her stomach.

"Are you okay Mommy? " He grinned at her , no longer afraid to hide his emotions.

"I'm fine Jordan" she smiled "but..." she stopped and looked at him smiling. "What? What is it honey?" he asked

"Jordan, I'm going to get fat!" she wailed half laughing.

Jordan pulled her into a hug "Angela, you'll always be beautiful no matter _how _big you get, don't you get it? You're carrying our baby, it's healthy and it's ours. We created this little person and we are going to be great parents , Just you wait and see"

Angela smiled at his enthusiasm " We'll have to start telling people " she smiled. Jordan helped her off of the bed and hugged her. " Baby, I'll scream it from the rooftops" he said, pulling her into a loving embrace.


	15. Chapter 15

Patty, Graham, Danielle and Rayanne were waiting patiently for Jordan and Angela to arrive. Patty had received a phone-call from Angela, instructing her to gather everybody around her house, as she and Jordan had some news to share with them.

Rayanne was grinning "Ooooh I _bet _they're getting married!" she smiled broadly at a frowning Graham.

Graham raised his eyebrows and looked to Patty, she just smiled meekly at him and looked at her watch.

"They shouldn't be much longer, Graham, then all will be revealed." Patty looked at her husband, she couldn't understand why it would be viewed as a bad thing if Angela decided to marry Jordan, after all..They belonged together. She smiled and sighed, her eldest daughter getting married, thoughts of hats and churches filled her mind and she sank into her own daydreams.

Angela and Jordan stood outside her parents house. They had been smiling since they woke up that morning, full of excitement.

Angela pressed the doorbell and looked to Jordan lovingly. "Oh my god, they'll like..die" she grinned. Jordan nodded, "They're gonna be grandparents, they'll be stoked" He held her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

Patty opened the door to see two insanely happy faces. She couldn't help but smile and immediately looked to Angela's left hand. She frowned, she couldn't see any sign of an engagement ring.

"Come on in guy's , they're all in the kitchen" She followed Angela into the kitchen and Jordan trailed behind.

Angela just stood there staring at her Dad, sister and best friend. She couldn't speak through smiling. Danielle stood up, impatiently.."Don't keep us in suspense Ang, what's going on?"

Angela took a deep breath as Jordan wrapped his arms around her, she felt his chin resting on her shoulder and squealed "We're having a baby!"

Graham's jaw fell open and he just looked at them, not knowing what to say. Rayanne screamed and ran to them hugging them both "OH MY GOD, ANGELA!!"

Danielle sat back down as quickly as she had stood up, "I'm going to be an auntie" was all she could say, repeatedly.

Angela turned to look at Patty, who was blowing her nose into some tissue, tears falling down her face. Patty was happy "I'm going to be a Grandmother! I'm too young! " she laughed, She hugged Jordan and kissed him on the cheek, she then turned to Angela and smothered her with kisses.

Graham stood up, slightly shaken, he was frowning at Jordan " How did this happen? I mean..I know _how _It happened..I mean..._when?"_

Angela approached her father and put her arms around him " Dad, I'm 14 weeks pregnant, the baby is safe and we couldn't be happier..here..look" She handed him the photo of the scan and Graham held it up in amazement. He sat back down in his chair and rubbed his chin, marvelling at the Black and White image of his grandchild.

Jordan coughed and took a step towards Graham " Mr Chase, I know you're shocked, we were to, but we want this baby more than anything and we'd really appreciate your support in this"

Graham looked up at Jordan's expectant face. " You'll make a great father Jordan, I truly mean that..If there's _anything _you guy's need..We'll do our best to help you" He shook Jordan's hand and returned to Angela pulling her into him and hugging her.

The next Six and a half months flew by, Jordan had built a nursery in their apartment and they had pretty much bought all there was to get when it came to baby stuff.

Angela was glowing , her bump was huge but she didnt mind. Every-time she felt the baby kick a rush of love swept throughout her body.

She had suffered terribly with heartburn, Rickie had constantly told her that it meant that the baby would have a lot of hair.

Jordan had started having weird dreams that the baby would be purple or worse still , an alien of some sort, but again he was reassured that it was natural anxiety and nothing to worry about.

Rayaane was helping Angela pack her hospital bag. She held up a tiny baby grow and put her hand to her mouth to prevent going over board on how cute she found it all..Angela laughed at her, she looked as though she were about to spontaneously combust.."I know Rayanne, it's soooooo cute and tiny" she smiled.

Rayanne sat on the edge of Angela's bed. "So Jordan's excited huh?" she smiled. Angela nodded her head "Yep, today is the first time in two weeks that he's actually left my side" she smiled.

Jordan had gone to the grocery store to stock up on essentials, he didn't like leaving Angela so close to her due date and Angela had to force him out of the door.

Rayanne laughed "Men eh?" she shook her head and looked to Angela , smiling coyly. Angela noticed the look on Rayanne's face and said "What are you hiding from me Graff?"

Rayanne grinned and said "Jordan's not the only man about to become a Dad"

Angela jumped up and screamed "Rayaane, you're pregnant?"

Rayanne nodded laughing "I found out a week ago" Angela hugged her "Rayanne I'm sooooo happy for you" she squealed excitedly.

Rayanne's gaze went from Angela's face to her feet. "Um Angela..? I know pregnant women can't like control their bladders, but was my news _so _exciting that you had to like..piss yourself?" she joked, knowing full well what was happening.

Angela looked at her feet and saw a puddle forming on the floor.

She gasped and sat back on her bed "Shit, Rayanne...My waters have broken"


	16. Chapter 16

Angela started pacing her bedroom, nerves overwhelming her rationale "This is it Rayanne, I'm going to be having my baby today!!" she took a few deep breaths,her head was spinning and she didn't know what to do.

Rayanne calmly reached for Angela's phone. "Angela , stay calm, I'm calling the hospital..they'll tell us what to do"

Angela started getting a tightening in her stomach, pain shot throughout her body, like an intense aching throb.

"Jesus, it hurts" she gasped. Rayanne shook her head "Honey they'll get worse, just breath and start timing how often you are contracting.." Rayanne could see the panic and worry in Angela's face and knew no matter what, that she had to remain calm and take control for her.

Angela sat down on her bed and tried to focus on her watch, within four minutes the pain had shot through her again..

"Rayanne.." she was scared and needed Jordan with her.

Rayanne was on the phone to the maternity department, she took one look at Angela and told them that the contractions were roughly four minutes apart.

Rayanne hung up the phone and grabbed Angela's hospital bag " Sweetheart, we need to get you to the hospital, like now!"

Angela looked at her "What about Jordan?" she was worried , he needed to know.

Rayanne shook her head " I haven't time to ring him, I'll leave him a note, don't worry Ang, he'll meet us the hospital" She wrote a rushed note to Jordan and put it on the kitchen table.

She grabbed Angela's hand and dragged her to her car. She helped Angela into the passenger seat and started to drive to the hospital.

Jordan was putting the grocery's into Red, he finally managed to get her running but she was temperamental, stopping and starting when she felt like it.

He had made a conscious decision that when the time arrived for Angela to go to hospital, he would use a different car.

He got in front of the wheel and started the engine, Red coughed and spluttered into action.

As he got through his front door, he placed the grocery's on the counter and began to unpack them. "Fuck, I forgot the milk.." he mumbled.

As he turned to empty the fruit into the bowl on the kitchen table he noticed a letter. He picked it up and read it aloud.

_JORDAN, TAKEN ANGELA TO HOSPITAL NO TIME TO EXPLAIN, SHE'S IN LABOUR..GET YOUR ASS HERE ASAP_

_RAYANNE.X_

Jordan re-read Rayanne's note and his eyes widened. He looked around for his car keys and couldn't see them.

"Fuck fuck fuck!" he shouted "I've only just put 'em down..where the hell are they?" he spun round in circles, he couldn't see them anywhere.

He slammed his hands onto his kitchen surface and said aloud "think Catalano.._THINK!", _he rubbed his eyes in frustration and put his hand in his pocket, he felt the jagged cut of his car keys on his fingertips "dammit" he rolled his eyes and ran out of the house and into his work van, he raced up the street in the direction of the hospital.

Angela's contractions were now less than 2 minutes apart. She had discovered the joys of Gas and Air and was sucking in as much of the stuff as her lungs would allow.

The midwife smiled and reassured her "Not long now Angela, just keep breathing that stuff in slowly or else you'll start to feel sick"

The contractions were unbearable "make it stop, please!" she begged the midwife. The midwife smiled at her "just concentrate on your breathing Angela. I'm going to examine you now to see how much you've dialated, is that okay with you?" she asked gently.

"Whatever, just get it out of me" she panted, sweat pouring from her brow.

Rayanne was getting nervous, where was Catalano and would she herself really be going through this much pain when her time came to give birth, all kinds of questions without answers raced through her mind.

"Angela, I'm going to ring Patty and Graham, I wont be long" she backed out of the room..

Angela held out her hand " Rayanne, don't you dare leave me" she cried. Rayanne shook her head " Look Ang, I'll be two minutes I promise you", she turned away and headed for the phones.

Angela stared up at the ceiling, she didn't want to look at where the midwife was, if she wasn't in so much pain she'd have been mortified that another woman was staring intently at her vagina. "Ok Angela, you may feel a little bit of discomfort as I feel to check how far along you are.." Angela nodded and squeezed her eyes shut tight.

"Okay, you're around 8 centimetres dialated, as soon as you get to 10 I need you to start pushing, but don't push until I say so.."

Angela shook her head as pain tore through her " How the fuck do I push?" she spat "I'm new to this, I've never done this before..what if I can't push?" she screamed as another contraction tore through her.

The midwife held her hand " Honey you'll know how to push believe me, your body will tell you..I've done this four times myself" she tried to reassure her.

"Four times?" she gasped "Are you insane?" the midwife laughed and mopped Angela's sweaty brow with a damp cloth.

Rayanne was on the phone to Patty, just as she hung up the phone she saw Jordan running towards her blindly and clearly in a complete state.

"Where is she Rayanne?" he blurted , trying to catch his breath. Before he could answer he heard a blood curdling scream coming from one of the rooms. "Follow that scream" smiled Rayanne.

Jordan looked terrified. "Shit, she's really doing this isn't she?" he asked, shocked and scared. "Yes she is, and she needs your ass in there pronto Catalano..Go now!" Rayanne smiled and rolled her eyes.

Jordan ran into the room where the screaming was coming from and saw Angela holding on the the bedposts baring her teeth in a growl.

"Jordan, where the _HELL_ have you been?" she shouted. Jordan ran to her side and held onto her hand " I'm here now baby..shit..I'm here now..."

The midwife smiled at Jordan. "Okay Angela, when I say push I want you to push as hard as you can okay?"

Angela nodded and looked at Jordan. "I'm scared" she muttered. Jordan kissed her forehead and rubbed her hand.

"You can do this Angela, you know you can..."

The midwife looked at Angela " When your next contraction hits I want you to push...okay...PUSH!"

Angela closed her eyes and holding onto Jordan's hand as tightly as she could , she gritted her teeth and pushed down into herself as hard as she could.

Jordan winced in pain, not for Angela but for his hand, it was pure white as Angela's fingernails had dug into the back of his hand drawing blood.

"Ouch Angela..my hand ..It's bleeding.." he whimpered. Angela opened her eyes and looked at him full of hate.

"Your hand is bleeding? YOUR FUCKIN HAND IS BLEEDING? TRY SHITTING A BASKETBALL!" she growled.

The midwife laughed and Jordan looked to the floor, his hand was small fries compared to the agony Angela must be feeling.

The midwife looked at Angela and grinned , okay Angela , I can see the head..a few more pushes honey and your baby will be here"

Jordan looked at Angela and then looked at the midwife. "Can I see?" he asked hesitantly The midwife nodded and Angela rolled her eyes in embarrassment.

Jordan held his breath and looked in-between Angela's legs, he grimaced at the blood but soon that grimace turned to amazement. Still caught in Angela's grip he tried to squeeze her hand as he smiled " It's got a lot of black hair Ang, Oh my god...it's our baby" His eyes began to cloud with tears and he briskly brushed them away. "This is amazing baby, I'm so proud of you"

Angela bore down again to the excited cries of Jordan saying "I can see the shoulders..pant Angela.._pant", _She gave one last tremendous push and the baby slid out of her, all pain had disappeared and she lay her head back on the pillows with relief and tiredness.

A baby's cries filled the room and Jordan was in tears " It's a girl Angela, we have a baby girl" he ran to her and hugged her.

Angela smiled weakly and put her arms around Jordan. "I'm never doing this again" she smiled.

The midwife wrapped the baby girl in a towel and handed her to Angela.

As she gazed into her daughter's face , tears rolled down her cheeks. In front of her was the smallest, most precious little girl, she had pink cheeks, Jordan's eyes and her mouth , she also had a full head of jet black hair. "Oh my god, Jordan she's perfect.." she gasped as she stroked the tiny infants face.

Jordan was leaning over them, one hand over Angela's shoulder and the other hand tenderly stroking the baby's soft hair.

"She's amazing, _you're _amazing" he whispered, as he tenderly embraced both of his girls.

Rayanne, Rickie, Patty, Graham and Danielle slowly walked into the room. Patty started crying as soon as she saw her first Grandchild as did Graham. "Sweetheart, well done..she's adorable" cooed Graham, overcome with emotions.

"What have you decided to call her?" asked Danielle, completely in awe of the little girl she was holding as she gently handed her back into Jordan's eager arms.

Angela looked at Jordan and smiled, he looked back at her full of love and without taking his eyes off of Angela he murmured

"Louisa Emilie Catalano, after my Mom" he smiled, his voice cracking. His mother never got to see what a beautiful woman her son had fallen in love with and she would never get to hold her first grandchild, but Jordan knew that she'd be proud of him.

"I hope you can see her Mom" he said quietly as he looked to the sky above.

Angela rubbed Jordan's back softly as he cradled his new born baby girl. He smiled and counted all of her little fingers and toes, he stroked her cheeks and kissed her tiny nose. He had never felt so much love and knew that no matter what happened he would _never _let this child or Angela down.

"Hello Louisa, I'm your daddy" he smiled down to her. He turned to look at Angela " I love you so much, I'm so proud of you baby..thank you, thank you for giving us such a perfect little girl" he kissed her softly on the lips and reached into his pocket.

"There's this thing I need to do" he whispered, as he unfolded his hand to reveal a small box.

Angela sat up, she looked into his blue eyes and a small smile spread across her face.

"Angela Chase, I should have asked you this years ago, but it's better late then never right?" he smiled as tears slid down Angela's cheeks. He opened the box and presented Angela with a beautiful diamond ring.

" Will you be my wife?" he smiled.

Angela nodded her head slowly, tears flowing endlessly down her face "I thought you'd never ask" she smiled as he bent down and gave her a lingering kiss.


End file.
